Glenrothes 29-12 Portobello: Reds warm up for Dunfermline opener with victory

The Glens coaching team had selected a large squad who all contributed to an entertaining game enjoyed by the large support. It took 20 minutes for Glenrothes to open the scoring and it was club captain, Ross Hutchison, who pounced on a loose ball to touched down near the left corner but Kain Duguid was unable to convert into the strong wind.

Portobello struck back and a successful conversion gave the visitors a 5-7 lead which they held on to until half time. The home team started the second half with a bang forcing a 5m scrum in the first minute.

Winning the scrum comfortably allowed the ball to be slipped to Steven Varney who dived over in the left corner. The conversion attempt struck the left upright and bounced out.

The Glens made more use of the wind and from a long kick Shaun Gray increased the lead. He then converted his own try. Gray was instrumental in the Glens’ fourth try when he went on a typical mazy run before shipping the ball to Varney who ran in untouched for his second try.

Despite the touch judge signalling that Gray’s conversion was good, it was disallowed by referee Brian Johnson who thought that it had sailed wide.

Callum May crashed over the line for the Glens’ fifth and final try which Gray converted before Portobello responded with a try of their own. Next week sees the start of serious action with a Shield trip to Dunfermline.